The Ghost to His Machine
by Kal-El Fornia
Summary: It wasn't the first time that Darkseid had beaten Superman, had humbled him, and yet it would be the last as the Man of Steel  is broken.


Darkseid is a badass, he's one of my top three favorite comic villains right alongside the Joker and Lex Luthor, and I wrote this to see if I could do some more DC writing perhaps. Usually I'm critical about my own writing, but I like the way that this came out. It's always fun to see a bit of Darkseid, don't you think?

Not to sound like I'm advertising, but I do have a joke story about Batman. I say that because this is completely different. It's an actual serious attempt at writing something.

Disclaimer: Don't own the Justice League. If I did, I'd be an ascended fan boy.

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><p>He was disappointed. He had come to Earth for a challenge, to test out his new kryptonite infused body, to wipe out the Justice League that had gotten in his way so many times already, and honestly Darkseid had expected more of them, had expected more of Superman. Spotting him crawl out of the rubble of the building he just threw him into, the God of Apokolips slowly made his way over to the Man of Steel. Killing Superman would make him feel better, though it didn't make the Justice League's inability to stand against his new found power any less unsatisfying. At one point they could have stood at least a miniscule chance against Darkseid, but now, now they weren't even bugs to him.<p>

It was bittersweet really. His battles with Kal-El, regardless of how often and effectively they stalled his plans, had always been invigorating for him, but now that Superman could only back away and tremble, the dark conqueror wasn't sure how to feel. He enjoyed the sight of Kal-El, the current image of Earth's champion attempting to crawl out of the rubble just like all the other worms of this planet was one that pleased him, and yet there was a nagging thought in the back of his mind that things weren't supposed to be like this. He had always imagined destroying Kal-El in a legendary battle that only destiny could prepare for them, not this pathetic excuse for a fight. The world had once been their grand arena, the universe their stage, and now it was only the abattoir in which Superman would be slaughtered.

"Will you bow down to me, Kryptonian?"

Superman said nothing, only groaning as if that was the only thing that he could do, and as Darkseid grabbed him by his head to pull him out of the debris of the destroyed building, he wasn't sure whether Kal-El was even capable of saying anything at all. One eye was barely open, the other being burned shut from Omega beams earlier, and Darkseid squeezed a little, wanting to see how much agony he could cause. He frowned at how simple it now was to make Superman scream in pain. This was too easy. His once worthy adversary, Earth's greatest champion, was now nothing more than a joke, no better than the worthless Kalibak.

This was his great enemy, the tiger to his dragon, the ghost to his machine, the Michael to his Lucifer, and Darkseid deserved better than this. What he deserved was to stare death in the face, and laugh at it like he had done so many times before. To stand off against the Kryptonian, and conquer him in a battle that was truly worthy of being remembered in history. To look on this day fondly wondering how much more it would've taken Superman to kill him, as Apokolips burned at his back.

"Will you worship me, Kal-El?"

His eyes began glowing as he prepared to finally kill Superman with his Omega beams, but then after a moment Darkseid's eyes dimmed. No, the Kryptonian would not receive the boon of a glorious death in battle until he was satisfied. He was not yet done with him, not yet done tormenting the Man of Steel. He had defeated Superman, had humbled him, but as things now stood, the God of Apokolips had yet to make him beg.

"Darkseid."

It was a pathetic attempt to muster up words, hopeless as was the current situation, and yet Darkseid found himself admiring Kal-El. There the Kryptonian was being decimated by a being far more superior than him, and he still tried to give some sort of feeble response. The dark lord couldn't help but smile knowing that Superman's last words would be his name, and that the last thing he would ever see would be his mighty visage. Truly, no one's final moments were as honorable as this. Kal-El would receive the greatest gift that Darkseid could ever bestow, a warrior's death.

"Call me God!"

Slowly, in a manner to draw out his next action, Darkseid positioned Superman over his shoulders across the nape of his neck, and he laughed as what he did caused a great crack to be heard. Smiling, happy as ever, Darkseid dropped Superman to the ground knowing that there was little more he could do to humiliate the hero. He had just snapped his spine in two, and as he heard Kal-El's screams fade into whimpers he knew that the last son of Krypton was finally broken, both in body and in spirit. Deciding that the battle was now truly over, he put his foot on Superman's head and began applying pressure. He had always wondered how long it would take to squash the man of tomorrow.

"Your world will grovel under my foot," his words were full of contempt, and with his adversary dead there was little more for him to do with this world except watch it burn, "just like their Superman."

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><p>So what do you guys think?<p>

Yeah, it was pretty short, but it was my attempt to write Darkseid. Hopefully, you guys think I did a half decent job. Let me know, eh.


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